Giambi and Pettitte lead Yankees past O's 4-2 in series finale
Jason Giambi knocked in two runs and Andy Pettitte picked up his 24th career win vs. the Orioles as New York beat the Birds, 4-2, Wednesday night.
Derek Jeter's sac fly in the 5th broke a 2-2 tie. New York added a run in the ninth vs. Jamie Walker on a Johnny Damon RBI infield hit.
Melvin Mora had three hits, including a two-run homer for the Orioles in the 3rd inning. Giambi had an RBI single and a solo homer for the Yankees.
The Orioles win two of three in the series and are now 26-26.
Jeremy Guthrie took another loss in a game where he pitched well. Guthrie, who falls to 2-6, pitched seven innings and allowed six hits and three earned runs. This was his 9th quality start of the year.
Winning pitcher Andy Pettitte improves to 24-6 in his career vs. the Orioles. He gave up two runs and eight hits in 6.2IP in picking up his second win of the season over the O's.
Mariano Rivera pitched the 9th to pick up his 13th save.
The Orioles take Thursday off, then welcome Boston for the start of a four-game series Friday night at 7:05pm with Daniel Cabrera (5-1, 3.70) facing Josh Beckett (5-4, 4.43).
NYY 4-9-1
Balt 2-9-0
Postgame Notes
Melvin's Big Series
Melvin Mora had three hits tonight, and his two-run homer in the third gave the O's a temporary 2-1 lead. It was his 7th of the year and went 361 feet to left field.
In the three-game series, Mora went 7-14, with two homers and 5 RBI. He has back-to-back three-hit games and has four, three-hit games on the season. His average is up to .258.
After the game, Melvin talked about taking two of three from the Yanks.
Six Losses for Guthrie
Does it seem amazing that a pitcher with an ERA of 3.64 and nine quality starts on the year has six losses? Guthrie does, after giving up three runs and six hits in seven innings.
The Orioles have scored a total of eight runs in his six losses. In his past three starts he has pitched to an ERA of 2.18, but is 0-3 in those outings. The O's are 4-8 in his 12 starts on the season. Guthrie talked with reporters about the lack of run support he is receiving, and how it affects his approach on the mound.
Final Notes
The Orioles are 2-8 in two-run games and New York is 4-4......The O's had two bunt hits in the game after picking up just four bunt hits all year.......Johnny Damon had three hits, extending his batting streak to eight games.........Jason Giambi homered onto Eutaw Street for the second night in a row.........Guthrie has an ERA of 2.97 in six starts in May after posting an ERA of 4.34 in six April starts............Pettitte is 12-2, 3.25 in his last 15 starts against the Orioles.
The top two in the O's order, Roberts and Mora, went a combined 6-9 with a homer while the rest of the lineup went 3-27 tonight.
Key Quotes
Dave Trembley on the loss
"You have to do a lot right to win three in a row; we just didn't do it. Had some oppurtunities early, it didn't happen. Pettitte has pitched well against us seems like forever.......For whatever reasons we aren't scoring runs for Guthrie, but he gives you everything he's got."
Jeremy Guthrie on not getting much run support
"You enjoy the oppurtunity where every pitch matters and every at bat is big. It's not going right for me but the team is playing well and giving us a chance to win each time.........If you don't want to lose, don't give up runs..........Hopefully this makes me better and stronger and I'm building character as I move on."
Melvin Mora on winning two of three against NY
"To beat one of the best teams in baseball, you have to be pretty good. We played good baseball against the Yankees, good for us."
Steve Melewski's Live GameBlog
Rally Denied
NYY 3 O's 2.....end of seven
Chamberlain came on for Pettitte, got into trouble and then used high heat to get out of it. Mora singled to right and Markakis walked vs. Joba. Then with two on and two out, he fanned Kevin Millar on a 97-mph fastball.
The O's are 0-5 tonight with runners in scoring position and have left 8 on base.
Down by one with six outs to go.
Pitching Change
Joba Chamberlain comes on for NY with no one on and two outs in the 7th.
Pettitte tonight: 6.2IP, 8H, 2R-ER, 1BB, 3K, 1 HR.........96 pitches.
He is in search of his 24th career win over the Orioles and leaves with NY ahead, 3-2 in the seventh.
Tough at the Top
NYY 3 O's 2....end of six
The top two in the O's order tonight, Roberts and Mora, are a combined 5-5, with a homer, two RBI and two runs. The rest of the lineup is 3-20. Mora's two-run homer in the third has provided the only run-scoring hit off Pettitte.
Tonight's Attendance
24,791 - Thought we might have more after last night's come-from-behind win. Hope you all are enjoying it on MASN HD.
Yanks Tie It
O's 2 NYY 2........middle of 4th
With two outs in the fourth, Jason Giambi got to Guthrie again. After driving in New York's first run in the second, he hit a bomb onto Eutaw Street to tie this game 2-2. It was the 42nd career Camden Yards homer onto Eutaw Street and traveled 410 feet.
Three of the last four opponent homers that made Eutaw Street have been hit by Giambi.
Mora Longball for the Lead
O's 2 NYY 1......end of 3rd
The Orioles 8th homer of this series gives them the lead 2-1 in the third. After a Brian Roberts infield single, Melvin Mora hit a 2-run shot vs. Pettitte for the lead. His 7th homer of the year, and second in two nights, went 361 feet to left center.
Mora is 6-12, with two homers and 5 RBI in this series.
Guthrie Gets Out of It
NYY 1 O's 0........middle of 3rd
Melky Cabrera hit a leadoff double in the third, and went to third on a groundout. With the infield in, Guthrie fanned Jeter on a high fastball and got Abreu to fly to left--some real pitching there. Of course, he gave up a bloop and it cost him a run. He's not the luckiest guy in the world.
Yankees Score First
NYY 1 O's 0........middle of 2nd
With one out in the second, a Hideki Matsui bloop to left fell in off Cintron's glove for a double. Jason Giambi hit a ground single to right for a 1-0 lead even though the O's had three fielders on that side of the field.
Game Three, O's vs. New York, Underway
We are underway as the O's go for the sweep vs. the Yankees. First pitch was at 7:06p.m. and it's 74 degrees at game time.
Trembley and the Reporters
During his pregame meeting with reporters, Trembley talked more about what made last night so special for him.
Listen to Dave Trembley's pregame press conference
Trembley was also asked if he's starting to see crowd excitement with his team playing so well at home.
"What I hoped for coming into the year was that we would play well enough that we would earn some respect from the people that come out to watch us play. We never thought people would come out thinking things were peaches and cream. We know the history and all we ask for is a chance."
He talked more about his team's ability to come from behind and win.
"They don't give in or give up. If we get beat, we walk away and say we did the best we could. But we have an intangible feeling of 'we're going to get it done.' We're playing together as a team and have confidence. We have grit and determination."
Trembley talked about Joe Girardi's arguing with the umpires in the top of the ninth last night that the game should been halted by the rain with the Yankees batting.
"The way Matsui was acting and stepping out of the box, it looked like he didn't want to hit. So I just went ahead and let Sherrill pitch. If Sherrill would have stalled I would have done what Joe (Girardi) did. Joe's only trying to do what's right for his team."
He talked about the rocky outing for Brian Burres, who gave up eight runs, including four homers, in 3.2 innings.
"He was bound to have a bad one, he's pitched so good. Anyone is beatable on any given night. Five days ago he was lights out vs. the Yankees. Give them some credit, they hit him pretty good."
Comeback Kids
The O's have come from behind in 13 of their 26 wins. They lead the majors with 12 wins coming from two runs or more behind to win.
Tonight's Orioles Line-Up
2B Brian Roberts
3B Melvin Mora
RF Nick Markakis
1B Kevin Millar
DH Aubrey Huff
C Ramon Hernandez
LF Jay Payton
CF Adam Jones
SS Alex Cintron
P Jeremy Guthrie
Game Preview
NY Yankees (25-27) at Orioles (26-25)
Coming off Tuesday night's wild 10-9 win over the Yankees in 11 innings, tonight the O's look for a three-game sweep of the series. Their last three-game sweep of New York at home came in April of 2005.
The Orioles came from behind three times in last night's win, including twice from four-run deficits. They hit five homers in the game and the Yankees hit four.
The Birds went into the last of the 11th down 9-8. Aubrey Huff's RBI double tied the game and Alex Cintron's bases-loaded single provided the walk-off, game-winning hit.
"That's the best game I've ever been a part of," manager Dave Trembley said. "I'll replay this one for a long time. That was tremendous."
The Orioles had season highs in hits (16), extra-base hits (8) and homers (5) in the win. They've scored 16 runs in winning the first two in this series.
They are now 5-3 this season vs. New York and are 15-12 in the last 27 games vs. the Yankees.
The Orioles are 6-1 in their last seven home games and are 16-7 at home this season.
Pitching Match-Up
Jeremy Guthrie (2-5, 3.62), a pitcher who loves to work in May, but doesn't seem to get much run support from his teammates, tonight makes his 12th start of the season and 4th career start vs. the Yankees.
The Orioles have scored a total of one run in Guthrie's last two starts, vs. Washington and Tampa. But Guthrie has worked to an ERA of 1.32 in those contests (2ER, 13.2IP).
Guthrie has recorded 8 quality starts in his 11 outings so far and has allowed 2ER or less in six of 11 starts. In five home starts in 2008, Guthrie is 1-2, 3.73.
This year his ERA in April was 4.34 and it is 2.78 in May. This month is statistically his best. In 10 career May starts, he is 4-2, 2.31.
Guthrie will be facing the Yankees for the first time this season. In four career appearances, three starts, vs. New York, he is 1-0, 4.74.
Andy Pettitte (4-5, 4.27) tonight makes his 11th start of this season, his 6th on the road and his 34th career start vs. the Orioles.
Pettitte, a 20-game winner with New York in 1996 and 2003, has struggled a bit in recent outings. In his last three starts, the 35-year-old lefty is 1-2, 5.63, giving up 23 hits in 16 innings.
In five road starts, Pettitte is 3-2, 3.94. New York is 4-6 when he starts in 2008.
Teams should keep lefty hitters out of the lineup vs. Pettitte. They bat just .164 against him on the season, while right-handed batters are hitting .345.
The Yankees are converting Joba Chamberlain to a starter and he may pitch a few innings in today's game.
Pettitte vs. the Orioles:
2008 vs O's: 1-0, 0.00 (April 20 win, 7IP, 4H, 0R, 0BB, 5K)
2007 vs. O's: 2-1, 4.55
Career vs. O's: 23-6, 3.77 (210IP, 222H, 35 games, 33 starts)
Career at Camden Yards: 14-4, 4.50
Pettitte's 23 wins vs. the O's are by far his most vs. any other team. He has his second-highest win total vs. Toronto, with 16 victories.
O's Hitters, Career vs. Pettitte
Ramon Hernandez: .333-1-6.........7-21
Nick Markakis: .333-1-3...........6-18
Kevin Millar: .286-0-1..............8-28
Melvin Mora: .259-0-4..............7-27
Brian Roberts: .209-1-2.............9-43
Jay Payton: .200-1-2..............6-30
Aubrey Huff: .174-0-0...............4-23
Luke and the Longball
For Luke Scott lately, it seems it's all or nothing. He has just 2 hits in his last 23 at bats, but both are homers. In fact his last three hits and four of his last five have been home runs. Going a little farther back, Scott has five homers in his last 12 games and five of his last eight hits have been homers.
Ramon May Be Heating Up
The O's have been waiting all season for Ramon Hernandez's bat to heat up and maybe it's happening now. He has a five-game hitting streak going, during which he is 7-19. That run has raised his average from .207 to .229. That's the highest his average has been since April 4th.
Tuesday, he was 3-5 with a homer and a double. Before that outburst he had gone 17 games and 58 at bats without an extra-base hit. In fact, he didn't have an extra-base hit in May until getting two vs. the Yankees Tuesday.
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